According to our research, hiring managers at PayPal ask soft skills interview questions 21% less than at other companies:

1. How would you handle a customer with difficult behavior?top question

How to answer

People skills are highly valued in every company, and even so much more so in a company that deals with difficult customers occasionally. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities.

About Yourself

Look back on your experience. Have you worked with a difficult or disruptive person? Remember how you diffused the situation and how you turned things around. Do you have certain principles, or methodology, to deal with difficult people? Do you have strong people skills, are you good at conflict resolution? Are you high on emotional intelligence? Can you give an example?

About The Company

What have you found about the company and its culture? What have you learned about how the employees value each other? How do they treat their customers? Knowing their line of business or industry, what can be some examples of difficult customers? Do your research.

About The Fit

A question like this asked in an interview, may be an indication that difficult customers, or other difficult stakeholders, may indeed be something that you will probably encounter in this company, and it is important for the interviewer to know that you will be able to handle this challenge with good grace. If you can give an example of how you handled a difficult person in the past in a situation similar to what this company may require from you, this will strongly increase your chances of showing yourself as a good fit.

Pro Tip

One methodology for diffusing a difficult situation is called “the triple A” approach:

Acknowledge - what the other person is feeling,

Apologize - for the way the other person is feeling,

Admit - that there was an issue that you are working on to get it resolved.

If it is a customer, it would add that extra touch if you added another "A" to your approach by Asking for the customer's contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.

Statistics

This question is asked 3.0x more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

2. Tell me about yourself

How to answer

This question may sound vague, but it actually requires a matter of fact, concise and relevant answer. Here’s how you can approach it.

About Yourself

What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement. Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills? Try to give some numbers to support your statement.

About The Company

Research the Company. Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?

About The Fit

Based on your Key Selling Points and your knowledge about the company, why do you think you are a good fit for this position? Can you support your statement with relevant examples from your past experiences? Try to be concise and stay within 1-2 minutes.

Pro Tip

You can also end with a question like “Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?" That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the "interrogation" into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.

Statistics

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3. Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer

How to answer

This question lets the interviewer know how well you think on your toes and how great your customer service skills are.

About Yourself

Think about the time you were a customer, how were you treated and how could your experience have been made the best. Now think about the time you had to help a customer. What did you do to make that experience unforgettable for the customer?

About The Company

Think carefully about the company and what they are looking for. Read online reviews and any other available information. What are their standards for treating customers? What complaints have you seen that can give you a hint of some of the challenges associated with customer service?

About The Fit

Think of the company's ideals and connect those with your skills and qualifications. Now think of how these requirements are met by how you went above and beyond for a customer. Frame your story in terms of your STAR method:

S - What was the Situation?T - What was your Task?A - What Action did you take?R - Talk about the Results.

Pro Tip

Showing you have compassion and empathy for customers is always an excellent way to answer the question. However, always remember to frame your answers in terms of how the company addresses these issues.

Statistics

This question is asked 3.6x more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

4. Tell me about a time when you've resolved a problem for a frustrated customer

How to answer

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. How you handle a disgruntled customer can make the difference between closing a sale and failing to do so. It takes good people skills to handle such situations, and this question is a good opportunity to demonstrate your people skills.

About Yourself

Think of a time when, as a customer, you had a problem with a company. How did you feel? How did you want to be treated? How would the situation ideally be resolved? If it were you on the serving side of the table, what would you do differently? Have you had such experiences in the past where you helped a frustrated customer? What was the critical factor in a successful resolution of the situation? Try to define your principles or approach.

For example, I know that people tend to be frustrated when they feel neglected and unimportant. Whenever possible, I try to meet in person and establish face-to-face contact with someone who feels disgruntled, so that I can fully focus on the situation. (And believe me, checking your phone while speaking with such a customer is definitely NOT a good idea). Of course, this may not always be possible in your line of business or profession, but I guess you see what I mean - showing full attention greatly improves your chances of mitigating the situation.

About The Company

Every company relies on customers. Research the Сompany you are applying to and try to find out what their standards of customer relationship or service are, as well as try to find out some real cases where the customers complained about the company, and what the company did to mitigate the situations (a possible source might be Yelp! or another social media platform). Based on your research, how does the company treat customers? How do they resolve customer issues?

About The Fit

How can you make things better and WOW the customer? Give an example that demonstrates that your approach to resolving customer frustrations is in line with the company policies.

Pro Tip

A disgruntled customer generally just needs someone to listen to them.

The three A’s of customer service can help diffuse the difficult situation:

Acknowledge the customer's feelings,

Apologize for the customer's experience,

Admit the customer is experiencing an issue and you will do your best to assist them.

Add the extra “A” and Ask for the customer's contact information so you can update them on any progress on their issue.

Statistics

This question is asked 84% more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

5. Why did you leave your last job?

How to answer

This question may be a little touchy for some people, but it's a question asked by interviewers, to find out why you left, in order to better understand how you may or may not make a good fit with their company. Remember, never speak ill of your old company (this will not go over well).

About Yourself

Most likely, there are three possible reasons you left or are leaving your last job:

You are looking for a career change,

You are unhappy with your current employment,

You were let go.

Whatever the reason, it's best to always speak in a positive light.

About The Company

Based on your research about the ompany and the position, what do you like most about the company?

About The Fit

If you are looking for career advancement or a career change, you can be very upfront and honest. Be as enthusiastic as you can about the position.

If you were unhappy with your previous job, focus on the positives. Talk about the ways that you will best fit in with the company, in the role for which you're applying.

If you were let go, focus on the positive. Share your accomplishments at your previous employment.

Pro Tip

Whatever the reason you are looking for a new opportunity, always turn things around to show how you are the perfect fit for the job for which you are interviewing!

Statistics

This question is asked 86% more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

How to answer

This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions. The interviewer wants to see whether you are reflective about yourself, whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, whether you like to learn and develop your skills. They are also looking for your ambitions to fit the career path opportunities related to the position you are applying for.

About Yourself

Presumably, you are interested to grow professionally. Think about the possibilities that may lie ahead for you: take a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is a Myers&Briggs-based test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job. What challenges do you like overcoming? For example, if you are applying for a software tester position, you may find it fascinating to master automated testing in full and eventually become a software engineer, or you may be a natural trainer and love coaching other people which may lead you to become a QA team or department lead, or you may be more interested in understanding business aspects of requirements which may logically lead you into a Business Analyst position. However, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.

About The Company

Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general. Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects? Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff? Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product. In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.

On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!

About The Fit

And of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes. However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position. If you aren’t really excited about the position you are applying for and you demonstrate this lack of enthusiasm, the interviewer may conclude that you are not a good fit for the current position. Try to find a source of excitement in the current position as well, otherwise, you may be doing yourself a disservice by applying to a position you will find boring in 2-3 months.

Pro Tip

This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “as I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.

It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like “Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”. This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.

Statistics

This question is asked 48% less frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

7. Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to satisfy a customer. What was the outcome?

How to answer

This question lets the interviewer know how well you think on your feet and how great your customer service skills are.

About Yourself

Think about the time you were a customer, how were you treated and how could your experience have been made the best?

Now think about the times you had to help a customer. What did you do to make that experience unforgettable for the customer? How did you exceed expectations?

About The Company

Think carefully about the company and what they are looking for. Have you found any reviews online that can help you identify what the company's greatest challenge is? What are their standards for treating customers? Do your Research.

About The Fit

Think of the company's standards and ideals and connect those with your skills and qualifications. If you can remember more than one example, choose the one that fits best with the company industry and standards. Make sure you describe the positive outcome both for the customer and the company.

Pro Tip

Showing you have compassion and empathy for customers is always the best way to answer the question. However, always remember to frame your answers in terms of how the company addresses these issues.

Statistics

This question is asked 4.5x more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

8. Walk me through your resume

How to answer

This question is often asked at the beginning of the interview. The interviewer wants to hear a brief overview, a summary of your professional experience, in order to have a starting point from which they can dig deeper. Structuring your answer wisely gives you a good chance to emphasize your Key Selling Points and to channel the conversation in the direction you want.

About Yourself

Print out your resume. For each of your recent job experiences (at this point do not go back more than 5 years), write down 3-5 key points at which you feel you are strong. For example, for your current (or previous) job, you may want to list skills like “Excellent presentation skills,” “Employee Engagement guru,” “Analytical skills,” “Attention to detail” (they don’t have to be all soft skills, but being aware of at least a few of your strong soft skills is important). Make sure you have examples for each of your statements.

If you have difficulties to think of these points, search online for job descriptions for similar job roles, and figure out which of those keywords appeal to you. Look for people on LinkedIn that have jobs similar to the one you are applying for. Their profiles often contain many keywords that you can use in response to this question.

Now that you’ve gone through all your recent experiences, are there any points that repeat more often than others, or are especially important to you? These are candidates to be your Key Selling Points -highlight 3-5 of them.

About The Company

Research the company and the role for which you're being interviewed. When researching the company, find out what skills and qualities they value the most. Carefully consider the job requirements. What is it that you will be responsible for?

Now, write down 3-5 keywords from the job description that you find of utmost importance for this job role.

About The Fit

Try to establish the match between your own highlighted keywords, and those of the job description. These are your Key Selling Points! You should normally limit yourself by 3-5 such keywords or phrases.

Now, craft a story based on your career history. You don’t have to go in chronological order - you can start with your current or last job experience, and then go back to your previous ones, or focus on just the experiences that are relevant to your story, and only briefly mention the less relevant ones and only if needed.

Select one point to highlight for each phase of your career. Make sure you ingrain your Key Selling Points in the interviewer’s memory - after the interview is over, you want them to remember you as someone who is strong at XYZ, or experienced in A, B and C.

It's okay to focus more on stellar achievements and brag a little bit about them.

Pro Tip

Don't bore the interviewer by going through your resume line-by-line. Instead, WOW them by succinctly (keep it within 2 minutes) telling a story of how your career path has brought you to this point and how you are the best candidate for this role.

Super tip: The more you practice with Mr. Simon, the better you'll be at telling WOW-worthy succinct stories!

Statistics

This question is asked 2.3x more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

9. What was the biggest mistake you made in your most recent job? How did you handle it?

How to answer

It’s important to know how to answer a job interview question about mistakes. They ask questions like this to learn how you handle challenges. They also want to determine your weaknesses, and decide if you have what it takes to do the job well. It’s a chance for the interviewer to see that you can learn from your mistakes and use the experience to get better.

About Yourself

Do your best to tell a positive story about how the mistake was made, how you dealt with it and what learned from it. We all make mistakes from time-to-time. Answering some of the following questions will help you understand your own view of dealing with mistakes and their consequences. For instance:

How do you use a mistake to improve your abilities?

Are you self-aware enough to acknowledge failure and weakness?

Do you take smart risks?

How do you view success, failure, and risk in general?

Do you take responsibility for past mistakes instead of putting the blame on others?

If the situation repeats, what would you do differently? What would you do again?

About The Company

Before the interview, look over the job listing, research the company. Try to think of a mistake you have made in the past that is not too closely related to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for. What kind of challenges might you face if you get the job here?

About The Fit

It’s your opportunity to emphasize the skills or qualities you gained from your past negative experience that are important for the job you’re interviewing for now. Put a positive spin on your response by defining the “mistake” as a “learning experience” that led to your increased competency in the workplace. Talk about a specific example of a time you made a mistake. Briefly explain what the mistake was; quickly switch over to what you learned, or how you improved, after making that mistake. You might also explain the steps you took to make sure that mistake never happened again. Say that something you may have struggled with in the past has actually now became one of your strengths. Pick a story that ends with a compelling example of a lesson learned. Tell your story using the STAR method.

Pro Tip

Make absolutely sure that the interviewer understands that you learned from the experience. Never blame others for what you did (however, if you were part of a team failure, you could relate this experience, just be sure to own up to your part in it). Always be accountable for what you could have done differently in the failure. Demonstrate that you’ve had the maturity to benefit from previous “lessons learned” and you can move on with increased wisdom and competency.

Statistics

This question is asked 5.5x more frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

10. What is your greatest weakness?

How to answer

This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!

Interviewers ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.

About Yourself

No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.

While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down. What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome or something that is not related to the position for which you are applying.

For example, one of our clients admitted that he is not very good at public speaking and that he has recently become a member of Toastmasters International to improve. What a respectful answer and approach, in my view!

About The Company

Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture. What personal and professional qualities do they value?

About The Fit

It is important that the weakness you decide to talk about is not one that will prevent you from performing the job for which you're applying.

For example, if you're applying for a front-end developer position, do not talk about how you are struggling to understand HTML code.

Pro Tip

Use this question to sell yourself! It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.

Statistics

This question is asked 61% less frequently at PayPal than at other companies.

This page has been updated on March 26, 2020.

You can practice answering this question, as well as over 160 other common job interview questions from PayPal by engaging in a mock interview with Mr. Simon. As an artificial being, his undeniable benefits include: